Today Manitobans living with sleep apnea attended the opening day of the legislative session where New Democrats called for Pallister to reverse his decision to charge fees to Manitobans who use sleep apnea machines.

Today, NDP Bill 211 did not receive the support of Progressive Conservatives.

Bill 211 would have amended maternity and paternity leave legislation in Manitoba, allowing parents to take advantage of new Employment Insurance provisions, amended by the federal government, which now allow parents to extend parental leave benefits over eighteen months, as opposed to the previous twelve months.

Today the second session of the forty-first Legislature ended with the Pallister government ramming through measures that will damage the future of Manitoba families.

Government legislation will raise tuition for Manitoba students by 5% plus the rate of inflation annually. Families will be forced to pay hundreds of additional dollars every year to afford an education. The average student in Manitoba today pays $4,058 in tuition plus the cost of ancillary fees and books. By the end of the Pallister mandate, that same student will be paying approximately $5000 plus books and fees.

The NDP have learned that the Pallister government has raised only $1.8 million from private donors for bursaries in the first six months of the year. At the same time, the Government is spending tens of thousands of dollars trying to convince students and families that education isn’t getting more expensive, NDP Education Critic Matt Wiebe revealed today.

“Our team will stand up for everyday Manitobans, and for the issues they care about: good jobs, quality health care close to home, and a future in this province we can all look forward to. I’m proud and humbled to lead a team reflects the diversity of Manitobans. We are committed to working hard every day to serve them.”

Wab Kinew has been elected the new leader of the Manitoba NDP, party president David Woodbury announced today.

"Today, New Democrats have started a new chapter for our party by electing Wab Kinew as our new Leader," said Woodbury. "I want to thank both of the candidates for putting their names forward and everyone that participated in Leadership 2017."

The 2017 leadership race featured candidates Wab Kinew and Steve Ashton, helping bolster party membership to over 10,000.

The result of the delegate vote was 728 for Wab Kinew and 253 for Steve Ashton.

Together with working people across the country the Manitoba NDP is proud to celebrate Labour Day, party president David Woodbury said today.

"Labour Day is one of our strongest traditions as members of the labour movement," said Woodbury. "I hope all Manitobans take time today to reflect on the important role of organized labour in improving the lives of working people across Canada."

This year Labour Day has added importance for Manitobans in shadow of the Pallister government's harmful labour-relations policies.

Thanks to the innumerable contributions of generations of workers, Manitoba is a wonderful place to live and raise a family, said NDP Labour Critic Tom Lindsey, who today called on the Pallister government to reverse its anti-labour legislation.

“Manitoba was built on the strong backs, sweat, effort and skills of workers in every field of endeavour, from mining to agriculture to health care and education,” said Lindsey. “It’s a beautiful province and we can all be proud of calling ourselves Manitobans on this Labour Day.”

NDP MLA Rob Altemeyer and NDP MP Daniel Blaikie joined forces today after learning two potentially dangerous water diversion projects in North Dakota have not been referred to the International Joint Commission (IJC) for review.